


Unexpected, But Not Unwelcome

by Dagonet (TsukikoCurrier)



Series: PolyShipWeek [2]
Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 09:38:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7839763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsukikoCurrier/pseuds/Dagonet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eggsy knew, theoretically, what a soulmate's touch was supposed to feel like. It didn't quite feel like that through his clothes- didn't feel like anything special, actually- but staring at himself in the obviously-a-two-way-mirror in the depths of Kingsman there was no doubt that that was what had happened.</p><p>Where Harry had touched him, where he'd bugged him (the bastard) before leaving the pub, was a full hand, in a red so dark he'd swear it was blood.</p><p>Shit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected, But Not Unwelcome

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elletromil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elletromil/gifts).



> Part of PolyShipWeek!  
> Day 2 is AU, and this is the prompt I tweaked: 
> 
> soulmate AU where your soulmate’s touch leaves a (temporary) colored mark on your skin  
> imagine your ot+ being soulmates and everyone has a different color  
> imagine several members of your ot+ joining up and doing colorful soulmark art on person A  
> who’s really artistic and leaves really pretty pictures and designs on their soulmates’ skin  
> who’s terrible at drawing but tries really hard and everyone loves it anyway  
> who idly doodles on their soulmates whenever anyone is in reach  
> who loves one of the designs so much they get it tattooed

          Eggsy knew, theoretically, what a soulmate's touch was supposed to feel like. It didn't quite feel like that through his clothes- didn't feel like anything special, actually- but staring at himself in the obviously-a-two-way-mirror in the depths of Kingsman there was no doubt that that was what had happened.  
  
          Where Harry had touched him, where he'd bugged him (the bastard) before leaving the pub, was a full hand, in a red so dark he'd swear it was blood.  
  
Shit.  
  
          'Shit' Harry unknowingly echoed from his place beside Merlin, watching Eggsy through the glass, hand twitching in aborted movement.  
  
          'Well, this is unexpected.' Merlin took a moment to press their fingertips together, so lightly only the faintest tinge of green was left on Harry's. An unneeded verification that nothing had changed between them, for Harry- but one Merlin minutely relaxed with. Harry returned the gesture by drawing a smiley face on his inner wrist beneath his jumper, remaining behind in pale blue.  
  
          'I'm certainly not going to go easy on him.'  
  
          'I wouldn't expect it of you- and I think he would be cross if you did; he doesn't like charity.' They watched as the others team together, Roxanne and Amelia deciding that Eggsy was fit company, before Arthur's candidate and his friends started to harass Eggsy.  
  
          Harry's fist clenched, and Merlin could practically feel the rage pouring off him as they insulted Eggsy, and whoever his soulmate was, for their poor choice of reminder. Merlin saw Eggsy's jaw clench, and his eyes twitch toward the mirror for a millisecond before responding. Without his fists, Merlin noted, though Eggsy looked like he'd like nothing more than to wipe the self-satisfied look from Arthur's candidate's face with blood.  
  
          'I think he'll be just fine.' Merlin whispered, smiling to himself before leaving the room. Harry trailed behind him, casually sliding a hand about his waist as they meandered back to his office.  
  
  
          Eggsy swore he wasn't imagining the looks that Merlin gave him throughout training. No one else seemed to notice anything amiss, and it wasn't like he was being treated any differently, but it had gotten to the point that he could tell when cameras were focused on him. Which was useful, if creepy, when Harry got himself blown up. Merlin had barely said his name over the room's comms before Eggsy practically ran from the room. There'd been a distinct lack of eyes at his back that day, and the out-of-nowhere summons to medical did nothing to disabuse the notion that something was wrong.  
  
          Eggsy startled when he came in to see an older man in the room with Merlin, standing by Harry's unconscious form. Whoever the guy was, he seemed to glare at Eggsy the moment he opened his mouth- judgmental prick. He hoped to never be left alone with the man- it certainly wouldn't end well for him. Merlin's eyes softened when they met his own, and Eggsy took his comment to make Harry proud completely seriously, but he couldn't get himself to move. He stood there, staring at Harry, and didn't even notice the older man leaving in a huff.  
  
'What happened?'  
  
          'Officially, we don't really know- something went very wrong on what was supposed to be a simple mission. But his feed is encrypted and Arthur is quite put out that he doesn't have the password.'  
  
'An' unofficially?'  
  
          ' _I_ know what happened, lad, even if it makes no sense at all- but it's classified.' Merlin paused, glancing at him regretfully, but unthinkingly gripped Eggsy's right shoulder lightly with a slight smile. 'Rest assured, you'll know when he wakes up. For now, I'd concentrate on training your pup- pugs can be a bit stubborn.'  
  
          'At leas' if I don't get the gig my little sis will love him- an' he's small enough to have at the flat.' Eggsy smiled, looking down at the dog in question, and Merlin melted a little, determined that if things should turn out for the worse that Eggsy would still be cared for- Dean Baker erased from the picture.

          Harry's still unconscious, and Merlin's sitting at his bedside idly connecting Harry's scars in some strange connect-the-dots and reviewing the footage of the candidates bunker from Eggsy's return. Roxy had quirked an eyebrow, to which Eggsy had shook his head and gone for a shower, pulling a curtain closed behind him before even beginning to strip. Charlie and Digby were certain to talk very loudly about how they _knew_  Eggsy had to have fucked up to be called away for so long. Merlin was pleased to see a lack of response from Eggsy, but noticed that there wasn't really any movement from Eggsy's shower stall. He changed cameras to one that panned over the shower heads, and could see Eggsy frozen, staring at the small mirror intended for shaving.  
  
          Eggsy seemed to stiffen the longer Merlin and the camera focused on him, but eventually smiled a bit to himself before continuing in his nightly routine.  
  
          Merlin, on the other hand, did not know if he was in shock or awe, jaw slightly unhinged, as he watched Eggsy's shoulders shift beneath the stream of water- a pair of hands emblazoned there in blue and red.  
  
  
          They never discussed it while he was a candidate- which made sense, considering someone would think he was getting preferential treatment or some shit- but potential Soulmate or not, Merlin had chosen him to be the gimp and Eggsy was right pissed.  
  
          Until Merlin pulled his 'chute, giving Eggsy proof that Merlin was, in fact, a bit of a prankster. One with far more deadly consequences if it went wrong, but considering that he was working in an agency of super spies he really should have expected it. Still, he grinned from his place on the ground, he looked forward to learning more about him. And Harry. And what his marks would mean for the three of them.  
  
  
          Eggsy was tempted to ask Harry about the marks during their 24 hours, but Harry had his sleeves rolled up as he cooked and Eggsy could see the faintest green knotwork winding its way up from his wrist. So similar to the half-remembered vines on his mother that he nearly swallowed his tongue.  
  
          There'd be time to sit down and talk it out later, after the final test- but for now Eggsy wanted to make Harry proud, and learn everything he was willing to teach him.  
  
  
          Harry got shot. In the fucking face. Eggsy'd fucked up the last test and Harry had died disappointed in him and Eggsy didn't want to check his shoulder. He didn't want it to be real.  
  
          He ran to Arthur, killed him (and wasn't that easy, compared to being asked to shoot JB?) and went straight for Merlin's office. Of everyone he'd encountered at Kingsman, Merlin was the only one he knew who had access to Harry's feed and probably knew what had happened. Roxy pulling the gun on him wasn't unexpected, but the embrace Merlin pulled Eggsy into certainly was.  
  
          Merlin clung to Eggsy like a starfish to a rock, and Eggsy was gripping him just as hard in return.  
  
          'Is he... I couldn'...' Eggsy couldn't finish his sentence, instead buried his face in Merlin's chest, hands clutching desperately at Merlin's back.

          Merlin lifted a hand up by Eggsy's cheek, and pulled at the collar of his jumper before unbuttoning the top of his oxford and pulling it to one side. Eggsy could see the edge of _something_ , though he didn't know what, but it was blue. A robin's egg blue, solid and bright, and as Eggsy leant back and lifted a shaking hand to pull the collar aside, the brush of his fingertips left yellow streaks in their wake. He froze.  
  
          'Well?' Merlin's voice was choked up, and Eggsy realised with a start that Merlin had been doing the same as he had- avoiding his soulmarks so he didn't have to think about the reality of what had happened. Eggsy didn't really know how to put his relief in words, how to reassure Merlin that their (yes, _their_ ) soulmate had somehow survived the impossible. So he wriggled his hand between them, up to his own collar, and unbuttoned the top of his polo before pulling it to the right.  
  
          Merlin allowed himself to shed a tear, staring down at the skin Eggsy had revealed. At the vivid red still staining Eggsy's shoulder and collarbone, and not the scarring he was expecting. Had resigned himself to. He huffed out a chuckle, that Eggsy echoed, before pulling away.  
  
          'C'mon, Eggsy; we have to make sure there's a world for us to bring him back to.'  
  
  
          It was the incessant beeping that woke Harry up. Not the pain echoing from just about everywhere after every pulse near his left eye, but the beeping of the medical equipment.  
  
          'Someone turn that shit off,' Harry mumbled, eyes still closed, slowly coming to full awareness.  
  
          'No can do, bruv, they're keepin' you alive and tha's a trend I'd like to see continue.' Eggsy's voice came from his left and Harry's eyes snapped open, as that was the last voice he expected to hear at his bedside after all he'd said before Kentucky.  
  
          Kentucky. Shit.  
  
          'Valentine-'  
  
          'Is taken care of, Harry, you have to focus on your recovery.' Merlin, the voice he had _expected_  at his bedside, was on his right, and Harry was barely able to turn his head towards him. He looked exhausted, a full laptop as opposed to his usual clipboard in front of him, but met Harry's eyes with an open fondness not often seen outside their home.  
  
          'You scared the shit outta us, Haz.' Merlin's lip twitched, and his eyes left Harry's to raise a brow at Eggsy. 'What? It's the truth, innit? Fuck knows we didn' even look at our marks till we was with each other-' Harry sucked in a shaky breath, 'so yeah, we were scared.'  
  
          'I was referring to your use of "Haz" as some kind of moniker for Harry, but yes,' Merlin brought his gaze back to Harry, 'we were both very worried. To be perfectly frank, we were both certain you'd died. You've given me a lot of scares throughout the years, Harry, but this was the first time I'd really thought you'd left me.'  
  
          'I thought you'd died disappointed in me.' Eggsy barely whispered, and it breaks Harry's heart to remember the terms they'd parted on. He turned his head, slowly gaining strength, and twitched his  hand in an effort to get Eggsy to look at him.  
  
          'I was angry, Eggsy, at myself- not at you. I should have reviewed the footage of your car chase and seen what was bound to happen, I should have kept a better hold on myself, I should have allowed you to beat your stepfather to a pulp-' Eggsy shook his head, a sad smile tugging at his mouth, a small repressed laugh shaking his shoulders. 'I should have done a lot of things. And I'm sorry to have taken my anger and fear out on you. You certainly didn't deserve it.'  
  
          'I said some awful shit, too. You didn't deserve that, neither.'  
  
          'Yes, yes, you're both very sorry and shouldn't have done what you did.' Merlin interrupted, hand pressed to the call button. 'Now, Harry needs to get checked out and go back to sleep so he can heal up, and we have to see what we can get done from here. Luckily, two places at the table have already been filled, with you two, but there's still a lot to be done.'  
  
          'Yes, Merlin.' It was a tad embarrassed, and said in unison, though Eggsy blushed while Harry rolled his eyes.  
  
          'Oh don't roll your eyes at me, Harry- you've been promoted.' A nurse came in and checked his vitals, muttering to herself as she adjusted the morphine.  
  
          'Promoted?'  
  
          'Oh, yes, our boy here is the new Galahad. And you, darling, are our new Arthur.'  
  
          'I didn't sign up for this.'  
  
          'Technically, you did.' Merlin turned the screen around, displaying a document that was obviously an acceptance of the Arthur position. 'Eggsy's quite the hand at forgery, and no one's going to check the paperwork but me, so...' Harry's head was fuzzy, and sleep was calling to him like a siren to the sea, but he couldn't allow Merlin the last word on this.  
  
          'Fuck you.'  
  
  
          It's not until months later that they get a moment alone, the three of them exhausted and sitting at Harry's dining table in a strangely easy kind of domesticity. Harry's tea was sweet as sin, Merlin's black as coffee, and Eggsy's was practically milk, but Merlin was stirring Harry's with a soft smile and Eggsy was stealing sips of Merlin's every now and again with an impish grin. He shared a grimace with Harry behind Merlin's back each time, but it made him chuckle so Eggsy took one for the team.  
  
          'So how's this shit gonna work, then?' They're settled on the sofa, Eggsy's feet in Harry's lap while his head is in Merlin's- the latter of which is reading a book.  
  
'Hmm?'  
  
          'How do you mean?' Harry placed a hand on Eggsy's shin, drawing his attention in two directions at once, so Eggsy simply closed his eyes.  
  
          'Well we have to talk abou' it, don't we?' He gestured vaguely, one hand in the air and flicking his wrist.  
  
          'I suppose. Are you feeling left out, Eggsy?' Merlin had put the book down on the end table, and had one hand run its way through Eggsy's hair.  
  
'No?' Should he?  
  
          'Would you feel uncomfortable asking for attention from, or giving affection to, either of us?' Harry asked from his feet, where he was idly tracing fine bones and tendons.  
  
          'Kind of? I mean, I'm just a pleb, yeah? And you've been with each other for _ages_ -'  
  
          'And that doesn't make you any less, Eggsy- it simply makes you something new to be cherished.' Eggsy's eyes opened almost without him realising, as Harry's hands moved up towards his thighs.  
  
          'And perhaps a little broken in.' Merlin smirked, tugging slightly at Eggsy's hair.  
  
          'That, too.' Harry agreed. Eggsy blushed, not expecting such comments from the two, but didn't dare look away from Merlin's gaze, even as Harry's hands paused in their journey.  
  
          'So... we're good? We'll just figure it out as we go?'  
  
          'Isn't that how all relationships work?'  
  
          'And with that out of the way-' Harry smirked, looking down Eggsy's body to his eyes, hands once again moving steadily upward when he stopped, eyes flicking up to Merlin.  
  
          Merlin, whose knees suddenly lifted him up at such an odd angle that Eggsy's arms flailed out in panic before Merlin's arms wrapped about his shoulders to steady him. His head snapped back, eyes wide as Merlin smiled before bringing his lips to Eggsy's.  
  
          Eggsy knew, theoretically, what it was supposed to feel like to kiss his soulmate. And, considering how the touching things wasn't how it was supposed to be, he wasn't expecting much from the whole kissing bit either.  
  
He was wrong. _Holy fuck_ , he was so wrong.  
  
          Merlin kissed like he handled missions, with incredible skill and a great deal of creativity. He runs his tongue along the roof of Eggsy's mouth, nips lightly at his lower lip, and still managed to make the whole thing seem chaste as he slowly drew away, eyes soft and smile softer. Merlin's fingertips traced his left collarbone, where the hand he'd put there had long since faded in favour of better things, and he idly drew a trinity knot in the hollow of it. The blue, dark as the night sky, looked stark on Eggsy's golden skin and made something inside Merlin incredibly satisfied.  
  
          Harry's hands had continued their wandering, up and past the V of his hips before settling between his ribs. The colour from his feet was fading from his toes to his ankles, not unlike those novelty mugs that change when you add hot water, and ever upward before disappearing completely beneath Harry's palm. He closed his eyes, and Eggsy could see Harry stick his tongue from between his teeth slightly as he took a fingertip and began to draw. Right below his sternum, in the soft hollow, where Eggsy was particularly ticklish.  
  
          Not that Harry knew that. So Eggsy held his breath and clenched his fists and prayed that Harry would keep his touch firm and purposeful.  
  
          He managed until Harry started trying to add details, the perfectionist wanker, the laughter bursting from his mouth with no small bit of excess saliva- which Merlin wiped from his face before looking down at Eggsy fondly. Not that Eggsy knew that, as his eyes were screwed shut and his hands were clenched about his belly as he laughed until he cried.  
  
          However long it took him to calm down, Eggsy found himself sitting up sandwiched between the two. Having been the centre of attention for long enough, he turned to Merlin and tugged at his arm until he was able to silently convince Merlin to remove his layers. On Merlin's inner upper arm, Eggsy's yellow-bringing fingertips drew the Unwin coat of arms (he'd had a slight heraldry obsession in his teens) on a shield, and on one side drew Gandalf's staff. His protector.  
  
          He kept it simple otherwise, writing his own name beneath in Elvish(and didn't that feel a tad possessive) but that was kind of the point of this whole process? Merlin's Celtic knots (at least that's what he _thought_  Merlin had drawn on him- he hadn't been to a mirror yet but it would match what he did on Harry), Harry's weird obsession with butterflies, and now Eggsy's slightly-possessive symbolism. He pulled away from his work, a satisfied smile on his face, before he kissed Merlin lightly and moved towards Harry.  
  
          He already had an idea for Harry, knowing that Merlin had a soft spot for intricately knotting his arms, and lightly shoved his shoulder until Eggsy was face-to-back with him. He pulled at his shirt until Harry took it off entirely, and took a moment to decide where this was going.  
  
          It was unsaid, but intimately understood that these were going to be permanent. Everything else would fade in time, and be replaced at whim and affectionate touch, but these would last forever. Like Merlin's butterfly over his heart, like his mum's vines had been, like Harry's shoulder knotwork- and now his own knot and butterfly. So this had to be _perfect._  
  
          Eggsy had never really been great at art- but he'd always thought phoenixes were cool as fuck. They represented being able to go to your lowest point and not only recover but _thrive_  and if there was one thing Eggsy had needed while living with Dean it was _hope._  Hope that it wouldn't always be that way, and that he could _get out_  and get himself and his family a better life. That they could thrive.  
  
          So he'd been one of those kids who spent ages looking at pictures and doodling them on sticky notes and scrap paper in the library. Never took an art class (cos Dean was a prejudiced dickhead) but had a sketchbook hardly larger than his hand filled with sketches of the flaming birds shoved beneath his mattress. Which certainly came in handy, now, with Harry having literally come back from the dead and all. Never mind the fact that it was his fault Eggsy'd been able to get his mum and Daisy out of the estates- his fault they'd been able to _thrive_  in the way he'd dreamt since he was a child.  
  
          So he used his fingertips like paint brushes, adding pressure towards the centre so that it grew darker and more defined. He was lucky that his touch turned Harry's skin a dark orange. From the top of Harry's spine it began to appear, the lightest edges of Eggsy's stylised phoenix flame barely touching his shoulder blades. It took what seemed like hours, but was likely closer to minutes, for Eggsy to finish. He sat back on the sofa, hands settled in his lap, as he looked at the finished piece. Merlin leant his head on Eggsy's shoulder, his arm extended in front of them and angled so he could see them both.

          'Nice work, Eggsy.'

          'Can I turn back around yet?' Harry sighed, glancing back over his shoulder, and Merlin shoved Eggsy lightly forward as he nodded. That was all the permission Harry needed, apparently, as he pulled Eggsy to him quicker than he could blink.  
  
          Harry kissed with passion and insistence- for the first time Eggsy felt like he was completely past the gentlemanly exterior Harry presented to the world. And as much of a gentleman as he was, Harry was something raw and _primal_  beneath. Harry's hands were in constant motion, one gripping his neck and the other trailing down his spine one moment, and suddenly they were both beneath his arse and pulling him forward insistently. Eggsy could do nothing more than hang on and open himself to Harry's insistent tongue- he felt consumed.  
  
          It was wonderful.  
  
          And this was only their beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can find me on tumblr at [AgentDagonet](http://www.agentdagonet.tumblr.com)


End file.
